Job responsibilities
In this role you are a
frontline worker supporting people with a range
of acquired hearing and / or vision
impairment, in some services, the people you support will also have complex needs and learning
disabilities.
In different services you could be supporting children, adults or older adults,
or possibly people from different age groups.
The settings
for Sense frontline
workers include:
Residential and supported
living services
Day activities services
The Sense College
Community services
Our Communicator Guide services enable people to:
have choice and control over their lives
live as independently as possible and decrease isolation;
maximise opportunities to engage in practical, positive and stimulating activities and participate in
their local community
You
will work in a particular service setting, of which more details will be
provided in a one-page service profile. In line with our commitment to support
people in the most flexible
and person centred
way we can, you may be asked to work in different services or
settings in the future.
Purpose
The term Communicator Guide is used to
emphasis the communication support
and escorting / guiding elements of
the role and service. Communicator Guides act as the eyes and ears of the
person with sight and hearing loss and in some settings work on a one-to-one
basis. Communicator Guides are trained to support and facilitate communication
in different situations and provide support through communication, mobility and
access to information / services to people with both sight and hearing difficulties. Communicator Guides
are impartial and give information rather than advice.
The main purpose of a
Communicator Guide is to support
people to be as involved as possible
in every part of
their day to day lives
so that they can be full and active members of society. You
will work within the framework of the Sense I Statements to:
1.
Keep the needs of the people you are supporting at the centre
of your attention at all
times;
2.
Enable the people you support to influence their services and the way they are supported;
3.
Help Sense to provide a high quality
service.
4.
Carrying out Communicator Guide specific responsibilities.
Key
Responsibilities
1.
Keeping the needs of the people
you are supporting at the centre of
your attention at all times. This means:
1.1
Listening and responding to people, using communication skills
to support them to understand
1.2
Supporting people to make sense of their environments and to access their
communities.
1.3
Supporting people to learn new skills.
1.4
Supporting people with their health
and well-being.
1.5
Supporting people with their personal
care, if needed.
1.6
Supporting people with their behaviour, if needed.
1.7
Following any written
plans and guidelines for each person.
1.8
Respecting peoples diversity, age,
gender, ethnic origin, religious/cultural background, abilities/disabilities, and other needs.
2.
Enabling
the people you support to influence their services and the way they are supported. This means:
2.1
Using this information to co-produce person-centred guidelines and plans,
involving families, friends and other professionals if this is appropriate.
2.2
Providing opportunities to enable people to make choices
and decisions.
2.3
Supporting people to take part
in the running of their own homes,
if you work in a home environment.
2.4
Advocate on the behalf of and/or speak up for them.
2.5
Supporting people to keep in contact
with family and friends, and to
develop their social networks.
3.
Helping Sense to provide
a high quality service by:
3.1
Keeping all records of your work up to date and accurate. Ensure critical information is passed to Supervisor as necessary
3.2
Completing Senses induction and skills development programme and attending courses arranged by your manager. Taking
part in supervision. Attending and contributing to meetings.
3.3
Behaving respectfully all the time
to the people you support, their families/friends, your colleagues, neighbours and members of the
public.
3.4
Helping new colleagues to get to know the people they are
supporting and how to work in the service.
3.5
Keeping up to date with Senses
policies and practices and following
these at all times.
3.6
Keeping a safe, healthy and
supportive environment for the people you support, yourself, your colleagues, and anyone else coming into contact with Sense.
3.7
You may also be expected to carry out other
duties that are in line with the nature and grade of the
role.
3.8
To contribute to the safeguarding
of individuals in our care by adhering to our policies and procedures and ensuring that concerns
are escalated to management.
4.
Carrying out Communicator Guide responsibilities:
4.1
Provide practical help with
everyday tasks such as shopping or dealing with mail, assisting to improve or
maintain independence within the own home and community and may help people
with deafblindness to access
services such as GP surgeries, shops and leisure
facilities.
4.2
May also do short term pieces
of work to re-enable people
after loss of sight and/or
hearing, so to develop a basic communication method, or to re-organise the home
to make it more accessible.
4.3
Demonstrate good practice to staff in residential and supporting living if the individual is moving to one
of those settings.
4.4
Communicator guides are assumed to work in
situations with less accessible management support
and direction and to take greater
personal responsibility for an individual service than would be expected as a
level one support worker.
4.5
Support people with varying
levels of complex
communication or other
support needs.
4.6
Guide and mentor
other staff.
4.7
You may occasionally be required to carry out some work at evenings and weekends.
4.8
Communicator Guide training or the equivalent to be completed
as agreed with Supervisor.
